Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, March 22 through March 27

Super busy Friday (what else is new?) and looking forward to a great at-home weekend.

I have a Cornell breakfast with Timothy (at home) where we'll outline the next book in The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series and (hopefully) finalize two key pages on the updated BryonySeries website: Fetes and Feasts and Sue's Diner.

And then I have quite a few notes to carefully read regarding the first several chapters of The Phoenix, the latest story in the BryonySeries.

Two people reached out to me and asked if they could be beta readers. One read the "drop of blood trilogy" when it first came out and the other hasn't read any of my books. Both readers have very different responses to these first few chapters (one overall likes it, the other overall dislikes it), so I'm very interested to learn what is and what is not working for them.

On the editing front, I have the final changes to make to Phyllis' memoir and the second round of editing for a client to tackle, which I started last week.

Be safe, be well, be full of joy and hope.

Non-bylined features:

Monday through Saturday I assembled my non-bylined works into one convenient file and posting them on Facebook in the evening, so readers can easily choose the ones they want to read.

Or search by topic (people, pets, A and E, faith, health, and food) at theherald-news.com.

Social media:

Daily updates: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.com/BryonySeries. And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to join WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeonminooka/?ref=bookmarks. We're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

Upcoming events:

Once Timothy Baran is done updating this page, these will listed here: https://www.bryonyseries.com/fetes-and-feasts. 

Books and Such

Information on my books (including where to buy) along with upcoming events is at bryonyseries.com.

Questions?

Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

What it’s like getting tested for COVID-19

Will County resident had been in contact with someone else who tested positive for coronavirus 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/19/what-its-like-getting-tested-for-covid-19/adq9bhn/


I home-schooled; you can, too
Tips and encouragement for educating your child during COVID-19

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/20/i-home-schooled-you-can-too/aa79rh2/


Tips for homeschooling during the shutdown: 'It's not public school at home'
Parents scramble to find resources to keep children learning, engaged

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/20/tips-for-homeschooling-during-the-shutdown-its-not-public-school-at-home/a28byof/


Joliet-area stores offer special senior hours for shopping

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/20/joliet-area-stores-offer-special-senior-hours-for-shopping/ansif6a/


LocalLit essay New Lenox student Taylor Issa
'A Sailor’s Experience as part of Christopher Columbus’ First Expedition to the Americas' 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/03/locallit-essay-new-lenox-student-taylor-issa/akaj8i2/


10 tips for caring for a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/20/10-tips-for-caring-for-a-pet-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/a34byc9/


Owners of companion animals: practice good hygiene, especially during coronavirus

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/20/owners-of-companion-animals-practice-good-hygiene/aj4phnz/


Will County resident tested for COVID-19 finally gets test results

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/23/will-county-resident-tested-for-covid-19-finally-gets-test-results/a6rbqej/


Fighting back against COVID-19: treatments and vaccines in development

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/23/fighting-back-against-covid-19-treatments-and-vaccines-in-development/a7dzi9a/


Hand sanitizer is not your car’s best friend
Crest Hill Milex owner gives tips for safely keeping cars disinfected

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/24/hand-sanitizer-is-not-your-cars-best-friend/a9d34z2/


Convenience foods during the coronavirus - here's what's trending 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/02/03/convenience-foods-during-the-coronavirus-heres-whats-trending/d4n4rj3/


LocalLit book review: 'Miracle of an Ordinary Guy' by Michael Altenhoff of Plainfield 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/23/locallit-book-review-miracle-of-an-ordinary-guy-by-michael-altenhoff-of-plainfield/a4v0b2d/


Joliet food pantry director worried about running out of food

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/25/joliet-food-pantry-director-worried-about-running-out-of-food/aluwf84/


Joliet-area teachers take to the streets
Social distancing parades provide safe, in-person connections

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/26/joliet-area-teachers-take-to-the-streets/dbrhwr1/


LocalLit book spotlight: 'Necessary Death' by R. Michael Markley of Joliet 

https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/03/26/locallit-book-spotlight-necessary-death-by-r-michael-of-joliet/arrrc87/

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage."

A Reminder to Those Who Accepted a Review Copy (and an offer to everyone else)

Readers, writers, bloggers, teachers, students, librarians, and anyone who likes books: Just an FYI that I do provide free copies of (almost) any of my books to anyone who would like one to read and review.

Click on the book titles for descriptions/summaries.

This includes the three young/new adult books in the BryonySeries trilogy: Bryony, Visage, and Staked!

The first book in the Adventures of Cornell Dyer series (for third grade and up): Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone.

The first book in the Bertrand the Mouse series (for young children and up): Bertrand and the Lucky Clover.

This does not include Snowbell or the official BryonySeries cookbook Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony."

That's because I'll email a free e-copy of Snowbell to anyone who requests it. HERE. Hard copies are available for free at select author events and for purchase HERE.

And because the cookbook is a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties, so this must be purchased. Buy one HERE.

One sample recipe from the cookbook is posted on the BryonySeries website each week. This week's recipe is posted HERE.

Mostly, I'm seeking reviews for the BryonySeries website, but you may post reviews on any site you wish, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

For those who have already accepted a review copy: I would love to hear your feedback: good, bad, and meh. Yes, bad reviews and meh reviews are welcome because there's no such thing as a book that's a five star readings experience across the board. And honest feedback is helpful to me as a writer and self-publisher.

To request a review copy or leave a review, message me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the website or via email at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Writing Feedback: What to Keep, What to Reject

This post assumes, of course, you're seeking objective feedback from a critique group, beta readers, and even friends and family (presupposing they're understanding you want more than, "Rah! Rah!").

It also assumes that, the more opinions you seek, the more varied the responses will be. So how does a writer implement all the suggestions?

You probably don't. Ah, but what to change?

Well, before you dismiss ALL criticism of your work and bask in the praise, I'll share how I approach any evaluation of my work.

1) If it's part of a novel, and the reader is only receiving an excerpt, some suggestions might already be addressed in other sections. That doesn't mean said suggestions aren't applicable. Take a look the selection; perhaps certain points could be reinforced or toned down.

2) See what resonates strongly. If someone is willing to champion a character, passage, style, it may be effective and could be worth keeping. Conversely, if everyone doesn't like something, or if they're lacking a strong emotional responses where such responses are indicated, the problem could very well be the presentation. Or the plot. Or the character. Set the piece aside and take another look.

3) Keep in mind the genre, style, time-period, character - and stay true to those while realizing that a suggested change to setting or dialogue might be inappropriate. I still wouldn't dismiss it. I'd take another look at my piece and see where the reader missed the point. I may need to rewrite to ensure the point is not missed.

4) The bits with mixed reactions. Carefully apply each reaction to your piece and see where change might be indicated.

Okay now practically speaking.

Last Thursday I read a chapter from Before the Blood told through a viewpoint of an adult character that is opinionated, illiterate, and in denial about many aspects of her life. It's the only chapter in the novel told from this viewpoint.

The suggestions I received for change included eliminating/keeping the dialect, adding more character description, killing/keeping the last line, changing a word in the last line, and strengthening her narrative voice. So over the weekend, I opened up the chapter and held up the suggestions to the prose. This is what I did.

Dialect: I had two strong opposing opinions on this one, plus the added opinion of narrative that didn't quite sound like her voice, at least, in some places. So I'm keeping the dialect, but toning it down in passages where one listener felt it was overdone and ramping it up in others where another listener felt her voice wasn't hers.

Character descripton: Since these are existing characters, and I add reminder descriptions in other chapters, and since so many new characters are introduced several chapters back, I added a few strokes of description here and there, to keep the descriptions and personalities fresh.

And BTW, WriteOn Joliet has one excellent grammar guru. I almost always implement her suggestions.

The last line stays.

And the word change in that line?

The suggested word is too strong, so I'm altering that line to better express my intention.

Does all this seem like a lot of work? Well, it is. But effortless-sounding prose is an enormous amount of frustrating, satisfying work

And so worth it.

Because when you get it right, oh, the joy!